Unificationists and Muslims Call on Baptist Pastor in Dallas

Douglas BurtonSeptember 12, 2010

A day after Sept. 11, 2010, Mr. Jon Halsey, a local leader of the
Universal Peace Federation in Dallas, organized a publicized visit of
prominent Muslim leaders to the First Baptist Church of Dallas in
order to confront the intemperate language of their pastor, Rev.
Robert Jeffress. The visit was covered by Fox Channel 4 News in
Dallas and there were several follow-up segments. See story here:
www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/christians-and-muslims-meet

Mr. Halsey was accompanied by two Muslim friends: Michael Ghouse,
head of the Dallas-based Foundation for Pluralism, and Mr. Marzuk
Jaami, Founder of an educational monthly seminar titled "Connecting
the Faiths."

Mr. Halsey tells Familyfed.org that he got incensed reading about
Pastor Robert Jeffress' condemnation of Islam as an "evil, evil
religion," and "a false religion, based on a false
revelation by a false prophet." He says: "I decided I was
going to attend his service and confront him face-to-face in a nice
way."

On the news segment cited above, Mr. Halsey, identified as a
member of the Universal Peace Federation, says: "I wanted him
[Jeffress] to meet these people, to know that there are good Muslims
out there, and it's not fair to make over-generalizations." Mr.
Halsey says he invited numerous Muslim friends, and Mr. Ghouse and
Mr. Jaami were the two who answered his call.

Mr. Ghouse and the other visitors were welcomed from the pulpit by
Rev. Jeffress who also met with Mr. Ghouse afterward to discuss the
Quran.

Visitor Dialogues with Baptist Pastor

"He asked us to stand up and there was a good welcome. It was
beautiful. I really liked that," Ghouse told Fox News, adding
that he is convinced that Jeffress and most Americans have only read
mistranslations of the Quran, where ugly language about Christians
and Jews has been incorrectly inserted.

"What he said about the Quran and Islam, I agree with him. He
has read the wrong translation. To find the truth, to be peacemakers,
we have to find the truth for the sake of a secure America. His
statements are divisive and offensive," Mr. Ghouse told Fox
Reporter Richard Ray.

Rev. Jeffress said he enjoyed his meeting with Mr. Ghouse and the
others, but still believes he has read an accurate translation [of
the Quran]. He expresses no regret for what he's said about the
religion, and further remarked: "I have no regrets at all. I
think some of my statements have been mischaracterized simply because
the whole statement wasn't given. I don't believe most Muslims are
terrorists. I don't think most Muslims oppress women. But there is
something within the religion of Islam itself that I believe incites
violence."

Mr. Halsey spent the afternoon of September 12 at the Unity Day
event organized by the Foundation for Pluralism. At this event, in
which representatives of more than a dozen religions celebrated
common values, Mr. Halsey was invited to distribute excerpts from the
speeches of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Universal
Peace Federation.

Mr. Ghouse expressed his appreciation to Mr. Halsey in an email to
Familyfed.org: "Thanks for taking the lead and standing up for
others. I am glad Channel 4 acknowledged your leadership and I'm
getting calls from those opposed to divisiveness and admiring you."